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NOTICE:
These are truly simple changes, but to
ensure that "moderate" does not become "overwhelming," do not overcommit to
implementing all of the changes at once.
Set goals and move on to other changes when
goals are reached.
As always, consult your doctor when considering
changes in nutrition, especially if you are on medication. |
#1 - EAT NEGATIVE CALORIE SNACKS. Some
fruits and vegetables require more energy to digest than they provide.
This creates a negative calorie balance. The secret to creating the
negative calorie balance is the timing of the snacks. The snacks need to
be consumed at least two hours after the prior meal and must be eaten raw, plain
and by themselves. Negative Calorie Snacks:
Apples, Asparagus, Beets, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cantaloupes, Carrots,
Cauliflower, Celery, Cranberries, Cucumbers, Grapefruits, Green Beans, Radishes,
Raspberries, Spinach, Strawberries, Zucchini
#2 - EAT MORE
FREQUENTLY. Most people are familiar with the recommendation
to eat five or six meals a day. To accomplish this, meals and snacks need
be consumed every two to three hours. This is a difficult concept for
many, but consider the ease of having a piece of fruit midmorning and another
midday. Adding those two snacks to the breakfast, lunch, dinner meals
would satisfy the recommendation. Understand that digesting food requires
energy. Eating more frequently increases the body's metabolism by making the
body work harder and burn more calories. Increasing the bodys metabolism
results in fat loss.
#3 - HAVE A PLAN.
If fat loss is the intent, there needs to be a plan of action. To quote
Bill Phillips, "If you fail to plan, you are really planning to fail" could not
be more true. The first step is to purchase a small notebook and envision
tomorrows schedule, what breaks, meetings, commuting, scheduled meals, and tasks
lie ahead? When are the most opportune times to snack, what foods are
available and what foods need be provided? Create a plan or idea of what
would be the best eating choices and times and try to stick with it. This
exercise is guaranteed to empower, even if deviations from the plan occur,
because it brings awareness to consumption patterns.
#4 - BUY A WATER BOTTLE. The easiest
way improve water consumption is to continually finish and refil a water bottle.
Set a goal of 80 ounces of water a day. Divide the number of ounces in the
water bottle into 80. EXAMPLE: 80 oz/20 oz Aquafina bottle = 4 bottles.
The many advantages of increased water consumption are; immediate weight loss
through decreased water retention, primes the body for fat loss, aids in
digestion, flushes more toxins from the body and prevents kidney stones.
Increasing water consumption is vital to increasing Health and Fitness.
#5 - DRINK ONE GLASS OF ICE COLD WATER BEFORE EACH MEAL.
This is helpful in both increasing your water consumption and in decreasing the
amount of food you consume.
#6 - EAT BREAKFAST. Breakfast is the most
skipped meal of the day. The excuses range from not having time to not
feeling hungry. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" may seem
trite, but it is nonetheless true. When breakfast is skipped, metabolism
slows for lack of calories, fat stores are protected through our instinctive
"starvation response" where muscle tissue is sacrificed for energy, and more
toxins accumulate in the intestines. More calories are stored as fat when lunch
is consumed because of low metabolism and overeating due to ravenous
hunger. The belief that skipping breakfast leads to fat loss is false. It
actually leads to heart problems and weight gain.
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